Omaha Bound! No. 1 Wake Forest Wins Winston-Salem Super Regional over No. 16 Alabama
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The No. 1 Wake Forest baseball is headed back to Omaha and will be in search of its second national championship in program history after winning the Winston-Salem Super Regional over No. 16 Alabama.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 1 Wake Forest baseball team is headed back to Omaha and will be in search of its second national championship after winning the Winston-Salem Super Regional over No. 16 Alabama.
The Deacs will make the program’s third ever Men’s College World Series appearance, and its first since capturing the program’s first national championship in 1955.
Wake Forest earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and went a perfect 3-0 in the Winston-Salem Regional, its first time hosting since 2017, with victories over Maryland and George Mason (twice) to host Winston-Salem’s first ever super regional.
With its win over George Mason to clinch the regional title, the Deacs became the first team in program history and the nation to reach the 50-win mark.
2023 Memorable Moments
Wake Forest starts season 13-0 for just the second time in program history (March 5)
The Deacs claim eighth Big Four series victory over Duke in Coach Walter’s tenure (March 11)
Wake Forest Sweeps Miami for first time ever (March 26)
Deacs sweeps back-to-back ACC series for the first time in 21 years and posts its first sweep of Clemson since 2012 (April 1)
Wake Forest posts third-straight perfect ACC weekend against NC State (April 9)
Wake Forest Baseball Hosts Epilepsy Awareness Game to Benefit the Epilepsy Alliance of North Carolina against NC State (April 9)
Deacs claim first series ever at Louisville (April 15)
Nick Kurtz and Justin Johnson combine for program-record 17 RBIs at Pitt (April 22)
Coach Walter earns 400th win as Wake Forest head coach (April 23)
Brock Wilken Becomes Wake Forest Home Run King
Career Home Run Record (April 25)
Single-Season Home Run Record (May 20)
Wake Forest ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history (May 8)
Team 109 becomes the fastest team in program history and the first team in the nation to reach the 40-win mark (May 9)
Wake Forest clinches its first ACC regular season title since 1963 (May 13)
The Deacs set program record with 43rd regular season win (May 16)
Wake Forest becomes first team since 2017 to win all 10 ACC series in a single season (May 19)
The Deacs break single-season win record with 48th victory of the season (June 2)
Coach Walter Named ACC Coach of the Year (May 22)
Rhett Lowder becomes second player earn to earn back-to-back ACC Pitcher of the Year awards (May 22)
Program-record tying and league-leading nine Deacs receive All-ACC honors (May 22)
The Demon Deacons punched their ticket to the Super Regional round for the third time since super regionals began in 1999 (1999 and 2017) after going a perfect 3-0 in the Winston-Salem Regional (June 4)
Clinching victory also marked the first time a Wake Forest ballclub reached the 50-win mark
Rhett Lowder claims nation-leading and program-record breaking 15th win of 2023 and 30th victory of his career (June 10)
14 Years of Success
A proven program builder and player developer, Tom Walter is in his 14th season as the head coach of Wake Forest baseball in 2023.
With 418 wins as the Demon Deacon skipper, he sits as the second-winningest coach in program history, trailing only George Greer (608 wins).
Wake Forest’s 17-1 win against Pitt on Sunday, April 23 marked the 400th win of Walter’s tenure at the helm of the Demon Deacon baseball program.
Walter was named the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, becoming the third Demon Deacon skipper to receive Coach of the Year honors (George Greer and Marvin Crater) after leading the 2023 Wake Forest ballclub to a historic regular season.
On April 10, 2022, Walter picked up the 350th win at the helm of the Demon Deacon baseball program as Wake Forest swept Big Four rival Duke for the first time since 2008.
Walter has helped 44 players get drafted or sign pro contracts over the last eight years, including six Deacs drafted among the top 50 picks and back-to-back first rounders in 2021 (Ryan Cusick) and 2020 (Jared Shuster).
#ProDeacs in the major leagues include Gavin Sheets (2021), Stuart Fairchild (2021) and Nate Mondou (2022), Jared Shuster (2023) who all have made their MLB debuts in the last two seasons.
In addition to Sheets, Fairchild, Mondou and Shuster reaching the Major Leagues, active professional players Walter coached at Wake Forest include Parker Dunshee (AA, Giants), Connor Johnstone (AAA, Braves), Jared Shuster (Braves), Morgan McSweeney (AAA, Orioles), Ryan Cusick (AA, A’s), Patrick Frick (AA, Mariners), Colin Peluse (AAA, A’s), Will Simoneit (AA, A’s), William Fleming (High A, Royals), Shane Muntz (High A, Diamondbacks), Bobby Seymour (High A, Rays), Antonio Menendez (High A, Rays), Brendan Tinsman (High A, Angels), Michael Turconi (High A, Blue Jays) and Eric Adler (Royals).